Comment by mkr-hn | Hacker News Reader

Comment by mkr-hn | Hacker News Reader

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I've been thinking the same thing. It's why I don't expect to be able to find my first job any time soon--I'm 26 with an AAS degree and no work experience in a terrible economy.

I've got an advantage since I have parents with a big house that's above water. My brother and his fiance are going to ride out some portion of it here with us (they both have good, stable jobs). I'm going to take this opportunity to explore the area around Atlanta (where I live) hoping to run in to some kind of opportunity.

I've also got the plan B of using this stable spot to consider cheap to create startups that don't make a lot of money, but do provide a small profit. With minimal (or no) expenses, a tiny profit can go a long way.

I think anyone who is in a relatively stable position needs to do what I'm doing and consider small entrepreneurial steps. It may put them in a better place, and it has the potential to take off and create economic activity, which could end the recession sooner.

Even if all you do is start a blog in your field of knowledge, you keep your skills sharp, improve them through interaction, and possibly give someone else the spark they needed to do something that will create jobs.

Have you considered going to any country where the employment situation is better than in the US? Germany for example will be searching many skilled employees due to an aging workforce. Plus you get state-financed retirement, 6 weeks of holidays per year, that you can even extend by doing overtime the rest of the time.

Don't know how hard it is to get a work visa though for US citizens.

Generally, probably harder than getting a job domestically. With rare exceptions, this is probably doubly true if you don't speak the native tongue. Many counties have fluency add 'points' for visa applications, some don't, and some merely require enrolling in language classes once there.

A lot of technology companies in various European countries are filled with people capable of speaking English (for obvious reasons) and some with many international hires (like Opera of Norway) claim to operate their business in English full time.

Still, some language capability would make it a lot easier to make sense of what the regulations are on immigration, read the job ads, etc, and higher education (like a masters degree) is helpful. Many of the programs in wealthier Europe require a demonstration that the skills sought are not easily found domestically. More education is not a perfect proxy, but is one thing which is often used (especially for the less experienced).

Right, european businesses may be requiring degrees for most IT jobs. This is also a good point that education is less expensive on the other side of the Atlantic, so that could be a possibility. There are many state-financed languages courses out there by the way - and they're really not expensive as they are designed also from people coming from poorer countries than the US. Also, it's Hacker News here, for advanced web companies using English is absolutely no problem (well probably less in Holland than in Spain, but you get my point...).

Finally I understand that going to a far country is not an easy step, so at the end your choice. I just wanted to show the possibility :)

"Many of the programs in wealthier Europe require a demonstration that the skills sought are not easily found domestically". Said 'demonstration' is a joke. If you're good, you'll have no problem to get in if the company knows how to use the loopholes.

It costs money to get there, and money to stay while looking for work. And this economy is so bad that even highly qualified people are out of work, so it's not likely I could get a company to fly me over there for an interview.

I've been looking everywhere for work in the year since graduation with nothing more than an interview at Target (the other candidates had retail experience, so I didn't get it), so starting my own cheap to run web business is starting to seem like the only way I can build a resume.

Well Germany right now has no big unemployment problem. The statistics now are better than in 2005. I understand it's costly, and even more it's a hard step, but don't think everything is harder elsewhere. I think Americans in Europe can be pretty successful, I have seen a few ones making their way here. In every case good luck in your job search or startup creation!

"you get state-financed retirement" ... how old are you? will that still be around when your turn comes to cash in? Retirement is a lie.

Exactly! I think that there is a rather substantial silver lining to major change, in that it forces people that would otherwise not have to/not have the guts to, go out and do what they want, like start a company or follow a passion (hopefully not mutually exclusive). That is ultimately where growth is going to come from. Assuming relative stability, the cost of trying something new falls dramatically in bad times.

Not to mention, by making your own company you're getting work experience. There are no holes in my resume since my first day of work. Not one day. Anytime I'm without work I switch back to working for my own company.

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